Orochimaru, Intimidated

Then Orochimaru laughed.

"Then, Uchiha Feng, please take care of me from now on."

He stood up, walked up to Feng, and extended a hand.

Feng was slightly taken aback, and hesitated for a moment.

After all, when he first transmigrated to the Hokage world, he obtained his initial power by shaking hands with others.

He meant no harm.

But the Nine-Tails inside Feng suddenly spoke, so he readily extended his hand as well.

At the moment the two shook hands, Orochimaru's Chakra fluctuated for a fleeting instant, so slightly that Feng, whose perception was not strong, did not notice it at all.

But the Nine-Tails Fox residing within Feng's body immediately noticed.

However, after discovering that the fluctuation seemed to have no effect on Feng's body and merely detected the amount of Chakra within Feng's body, Nine-Tails did not warn Feng.

Just as the wave was about to touch it, it gently swung its claws and crushed the wave.

Orochimaru's expression changed instantly, and his hand twitched slightly involuntarily.

It was at this moment that Feng noticed his abnormality, and the Nine-Tails also spoke up in the Sealing Space to explain:

"That snake-like creature was probing your Chakra just now."

Upon hearing this, Feng abruptly withdrew his hand and sternly questioned him.

"What do you mean by that?!"

"I just want to measure the gap between us."

But why!

Your Chakra... is very similar to that of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha...

Orochimaru knew of ten of the Nine Tailed Beasts Orochimaru, because he had seen the Ten-Tails in Akatsuki.

But when an eleventh one suddenly appeared, he couldn't understand it.

How much of the common sense in this Ninja World is just pure nonsense? Isn't there anything accurate?!

"Hmph, this is a one-time thing, and there won't be a next time."

Feng snorted coldly and turned back to his seat.

Orochimaru stared intently at Feng, or rather, at the Nine-Tails Chakra within Feng's body, his snake-like eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.

For someone determined to explore everything in the world and grasp all the truths, this kind of thing, which has a strange sense of familiarity yet is completely incomprehensible, is extremely captivating.

"That's the Nine-Tails, isn't it? But it was clearly inside Naruto Uzumaki in Konoha. I even investigated it myself during the Chunin Ninja Exams."

Then, unable to understand it no matter how hard he tried, Orochimaru couldn't help but ask.

Feng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his expression had calmed down.

"Nothing is impossible. Whether it's the Tailed Beasts or the immortality you desire, there's still a lot you don't know."

Even though I know a lot, there's much more I don't know.

I think as a researcher you should also deeply understand this point."

He was speaking the truth; the more you know, the less you realize you know—that's a profound truth.

Orochimaru, upon hearing this, began to ponder the words carefully.

After a long silence, he finally spoke softly:

"You know more than I thought..."

"I'm just more knowledgeable than you."

Feng spoke the truth once again.

In his past life, he spent all his Tenten scrolling through short videos on his phone; it would be hard not to be incredibly knowledgeable.

But he was merely knowledgeable and well-informed; in terms of wisdom and talent, he was no match for Orochimaru in the slightest, a fact he was well aware of.

But to Orochimaru, what he said sounded like a boast and a threat.

After all, it is well known that Uchiha Feng has observed the future many times, so his so-called extensive knowledge naturally comes from his knowledge of the future. This also means that, for Uchiha Feng, no one else may have any secrets.

Of course, Orochimaru felt that this must include him, so his own weakness was crucial to Uchiha Feng...

So he fell silent, not wanting to talk anymore.

There are some things that Uchiha Feng knows but can't control, yet he can't let the other party reveal all their secrets.

Seeing this, Feng didn't bother with further conversation and looked directly at Tekka, who had brought Orochimaru:

"Tekka, take Orochimaru down there."

"At the same time, contact Kabuto; he will be in charge of coordinating with Orochimaru from now on."

Then he waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave.

As Tekka led Orochimaru away, he once again brushed Sasuke Uchiha.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Sasuke instinctively turned his head away, but Orochimaru glanced at his expression and spoke calmly:

"It seems Lord Feng has treated you well; you're finally no longer just a walking corpse."

Sasuke didn't reply, but simply watched the other person leave his sight.

A moment later, he arrived at Feng's office.

"Clan leader, aren't you afraid that leaving Orochimaru here will cause us trouble?"

Moreover, he might even target one of our own people?

"Heh, why should we be afraid of him?"

He's more rational than any of us, so as long as we can keep him under control, he'll be more loyal than anyone else.

Sasuke was silent for a moment, then asked, "What if one day I can't suppress it anymore?"

"That depends on whether he has regained his humanity by then. If not, for the sake of stability, we cannot allow snakes within our territory."

Feng answered calmly.

The meaning of the phrase "no snakes allowed" is quite clear.

It must be said, Orochimaru is truly efficient.

A week later, he had indeed taken care of everything that had happened before.

Meanwhile, Feng built an independent research center for him in the suburbs of the capital of the Land of Whirlpools.

The new research center will be far more advanced than the laboratories Orochimaru used to hide in, and will be equipped with the latest and best equipment.

But all of that will only belong to him once he has researched and developed the mecha that Feng wants; for now, he can only watch.

"Lord Orochimaru, here is the data you requested on all Chakra-Conducting Metal currently used in the Ninja World."

A researcher walked into the laboratory and respectfully handed him a report.

A few days later, under the guidance of Yakushi Kabuto, and also for the sake of obtaining a 'registration' for the Feng faction, he arrived at the Rainbow Country Research Center, the deepest part of the Feng faction, to focus on researching Feng's so-called "Giant God Soldier Mecha" project.

Orochimaru took the report and quickly skimmed through it, his surprise growing with each reading.

"We can get our hands on all the materials in these reports?"

He originally thought that finding a few different Chakra-Conducting Metal would be quite good.

Unexpectedly, the report the researcher brought listed dozens of different types.

"Of course, not to mention how vast our own power is, we can produce almost everything ourselves."

Even if we don't have it within our sphere of influence, if needed, the Master won't be stingy with money and will spend lavishly to buy it for us."

The researcher said matter-of-factly.

Orochimaru remained silent upon hearing this.

He once thought he knew a lot about Uchiha Feng's strength, but now he realized that his wealth and arrogance were beyond what someone like him, who was used to a life of hardship, could imagine.

"This is really... a little uncomfortable, but hehehe, it's not bad."

But a moment later, he laughed.

Here, every experiment he conducted, every report he wrote, and every contact he made with the outside world was under the surveillance of Kabuto and some members of the Uchiha.

This made him look less like the infamous S-rank Rogue Ninja Orochimaru and more like an ordinary researcher.

Strangely, he himself showed no dissatisfaction; in fact, he seemed to enjoy it.

In the past, when he was the absolute ruler of his own power, he was limited by his vision. Even though he was more ruthless than other people in the Ninja World and used any means necessary to achieve his personal goals, he could not obtain many resources.

Now, under Feng's command, he no longer needs to worry about resources, manpower, and other issues. He only needs to focus on research, and all the miscellaneous tasks will be handled by others.

It was a strange feeling, but also... reassuring.

Orochimaru really liked this research method.

Even the ambition that lurked deep within him began to subside somewhat in this environment.